1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility rack adapter bracket. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bracket for use with a gutter-mountable utility rack allowing such a rack to be mounted on the side members of the bed of an open bed vehicle such as a pickup truck.
2. Description of Related Art
The major manufacturers of carrying rack systems for vehicles (e.g. Thule™ and Yakima™) offer devices known as raingutter towers. Raingutter towers are designed to mount to a vehicle's raingutters (located above the doors where the roof meets the vehicle's sides) to provide support for crossbar members. The raingutter towers and crossbar members act together to securely support loads above the top of the vehicle. The crossbars further act as a point of attachment for various accessories. Crossbar accessories are available to carry specific items such as bicycles, kayaks, skis, and cargo boxes.
Several vehicle manufactures have begun including cargo management systems in the bed of their pickup trucks. Cargo management systems consist of rails along the inner edge of the bed rail or just under the bed rail. The cargo management rail geometry varies by manufacturer but all are designed for the same purpose: to support various accessories such as ladder racks, toolboxes, tie down cleats, and bed dividers.
The utilization of gutter-mountable racks above the cargo areas of pickup trucks or other open bed vehicles is attractive since mounting such racks above the passenger area of such a vehicle results in the cargo being at an inconvenient height making it difficult to place and remove items, thereby creating potential hazards due to the high center of gravity of a load thus carried. Also, there is an increased risk that the heightened load might strike low bridges or trees while the vehicle is in motion.
The manufacturers of raingutter towers offer bolt-on rain gutter brackets. These are metal brackets which have geometries similar to a vehicle's rain gutter and which are designed to be bolted onto a surface to provide an alternative means of support for rain gutter towers. These brackets are used primarily on pickup truck caps and their use requires that holes be drilled in the caps so that the attachment bolts may be secured.
Carrying rack systems specifically designed for use on or in the bed of an open bed vehicle are also known in the art. All of the rack systems specifically designed for open bed vehicles—e.g. pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs)—have some undesirable features and limitations. These limitations include: the requirement that holes be drilled in the vehicle for attachment; mounting inside the bed area thereby consuming valuable space within the bed; mounting on the bed rail in such a way that a bed covering system (e.g. a tonneau cover) either cannot be used or requires apertures be provided in the cover; or requiring the presence of a bed covering system to secure the rack system to the bed rails.
One class of cargo rack systems for use in open bed vehicles utilizes components that are add-ons or accessories for bed covering systems. Such covering systems typically feature rails which are mounted to the top surfaces of the side members of an open truck bed. Normally, this is done by removably clamping the rails to an inner surface or underside on the edges of the truck bed sides. Alternatively the rails of systems are affixed to the bed sides by drilling holes in the top surfaces of the sides and inserting fasteners. There exist accessories that allow the addition of load carrying racks to the rails of bed covering systems. Such a bed covering system with accessory load carrying components is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,719, to Tucker. Among the disadvantages of these systems are that they are not compatible with common commercially available gutter mount rack systems, and that they require the presence of bed cover mounting rails for attachment, and cannot therefore be used unless such a covering system is installed on the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,159 to Fisher discloses a bracket for securing a commercially available gutter-mountable rack system to the bed of a pickup truck. The Fisher device consists of a bracket which allows attachment of a rain gutter tower. The device relies on a bed cover system as described above to secure it to the rails of the truck bed. No provision is provided for attachment of Fisher's bracket in the absence of such a bed covering system. FIG. 9 of the '159 patent depicts a cutaway view of the Fisher bracket attached to the side member of a truck bed. The bracket is situated between the truck body members and a rail which is a component of a truck bed cover system. The bracket is secured to the truck by tightening a bolt such that a lower clamp member is pressed against the lower surface of the pickup truck side wall, and an upper clamp member bears against an upper surface of a rail component which in turn bears on the upper surface of the clamp. Thus, attachment of the bracket to the truck body requires three clamping components. It is taught that the clamps may be those provided with a bed cover system. In that case, the bracket's location on the truck bed will be limited to the clamping locations designated by the bed cover manufacturer. Installation of the bracket must be performed at the same time as installation of the bed cover system, and installation is complicated by the fact that bed cover components must be removed and reinstalled to affect attachment of the bracket. Fisher also discloses that the bracket may be attached with a two part clamp which is not a part of the bed covering system. This would allow alternate positioning of the bracket, and could enable the bracket to be attached to a truck which does not have a bed cover, but attachment of the bracket would still require that additional components be provided. This complicates assembly of the bracket to the truck, and the presence of three components increases the likelihood that the bracket will loosen with use, since the components may shift relative to one another or deform with use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,175 to Martin discloses a carrying rack mountable to the bed of a truck. In a first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 of the '175 patent, the bracket mounts to a cover mounting rail. The bracket is mounted by means of screws which engage a slider. Tightening the screws draws the bottom surface of the bracket against the top of the rail. The bracket is thus attached to the rail and not directly to the truck bed. A second embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 7 of the '175 patent. Here, the bracket has a profile designed to pass over the cover mounting rails and mount to the side of the truck bed by means of a multipart clamp consisting of an upper member, a lower member and a bolt. The bracket, by virtue of its passing over the bed cover rails, is likely to interfere with the installation and removal of the bed cover since it obstructs a portion of the mounting rail. The profile of the bracket, being designed to pass over and contact the cover mounting rail, means that the bracket is not usable unless such a rail is present. Furthermore, since the bracket and clamp assembly consists of at least 3 separate parts, installation is likely to be relatively difficult and the likelihood of the bracket working loose is increased by the plurality of components used. Finally, in either embodiment the geometry of the vertical members, precludes the attachment of a commercially-available gutter-mountable rack system. The brackets must be used with the specially designed load bars. Martin '175 has no provision for employing existing racks, such as ones manufactured by Yakima™ or Thule™.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,898 to Price discloses a clamp for attachment to a truck bed. The clamp is designed to support a rod which spans the width of the truck bed, or a D-ring or similar tie-down attachment point. The clamp does not allow attachment of a commercial rain-gutter mounted rack to the bed of the truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,719, to Tucker is directed to an apparatus for attaching a cover for an open-topped vehicle enclosure and includes an optional cargo carrier. Cargo support members are attachable between opposing rail members to carry items, such as skis, bicycles, and the like. The cargo support members include accessory bars that span the opposing rail members and attach to the rails. The accessory bar bolts through an accessory adapter insert and to an accessory clamp member. Tucker '719 has no provision for employing existing racks, such as ones manufactured by Yakima™ or Thule™.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,521, to Hathaway et al., discloses a utility rack similar to Tucker '719. The device of Hathaway et al. allows a bicycle rack to be attached to a bed cover assembly. In order to accommodate the bicycle rack with the modular rail system, dovetailed projections are provided on the bottom of the bicycle rack. The dovetailed projections fit into corresponding dovetailed recesses in the modular rail system. As with Tucker '719, Hathaway et al. does not permit the use of existing bicycle racks, such as ones manufactured by Yakima™ or Thule™ to be employed with the modular rail system, without necessitating major reconstruction to clamp the bicycle rack to the modular rail system.
Both Tucker '719 and Hathaway et al. require racks specifically designed for use with their own specific bed covering systems, and do not contemplate the use of conventional racks with their systems. Any attempt to utilize an existing bicycle rack with either the Tucker '719 or Hathaway et al. assembly would require complicated reconstruction.